


A Year To Be Remembered

by Areli (Gemstarzah)



Series: Glorfindel's Second Life [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, M/M, Male Slash, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Relationship(s), Surprises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-20 20:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3664395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemstarzah/pseuds/Areli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An invitation to Imladris from Mirkwood causes quite the stir. For those who invited, there is a lot of speculation as to what is going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Messenger

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This is being written for April's Camp NaNoWriMo session, so random updates may be the case.  
> Beta Read by Rayne!

Blue eyes narrowed as Glorfindel spotted the lone rider cantering up the slope toward where he sat with his patrol. Glorfindel frowned as he took in the other elf's attire; greens and browns common to the Woodland Realm alone. He knew from experience that the elves of the Woodland Realm did not travel alone, yet this elf had done so, which made him wonder why he was alone.

There was fright in the ellon's eyes, Glorfindel noticed as he got closer to them, so he called out in a friendly voice to the other elf.

"Do not worry, you are among friends now. You can slow down."

The other elf did not seem to react until he was a lot closer, his horse almost ran straight into one of the horses amongst Glorfindel's patrol.

"Yrch," was the one word the rider said, though he sounded quite weak when he spoke.

Glorfindel flinched as the other fainted, one of his own men catching him before he fell out of the saddle.

"Take him down into the valley," Glorfindel said, looking at the one who had caught their unexpected arrival. "The rest of us will scout out where the orcs are and destroy them."

The ellon nodded, and turned his horse, leading the tired horse as he did so.

Glorfindel nodded at Úrdir, his second in command, and then started in the direction the rider had come from.

It would have taken a considerable number of orcs to outnumber elves, and he could only hope they wouldn’t be too late to help the messenger’s company. Alagmîr, his white mount, rushed forward at his command, as they followed the pass back through Hithaeglir, on the most likely route the rider would have come from.

Eventually they came across several bodies, which saddened Glorfindel. The orcs were nowhere in sight, but, for some reason, they'd left the elves with their weapons. Orcs usually would have taken them. This was strange indeed.

"Search for any survivors," Glorfindel said, as he kept a close eye on their surroundings. He knew they would have to burn the dead elves, though he hoped there was some way for their names to be known so that those who had family in the Greenwood could be informed of their loved ones' fates.

Of the five who had ridden with the messenger, it seemed that none of them had survived. A sorrowful day indeed, to see so many of the Eldar slain in battle by the orcs.

"Cut în sîdh, maethyr," Glorfindel murmured. Looking at Úrdir, he spoke once more. "See to it that they are farewelled as well as can be possible given the circumstances, then return home."

He knew some of his warriors would follow him home, while most would stay to help build the pyres for the fallen silvans. After spending so much more time amongst Thranduil's silvans, Glorfindel had come to understand some of their customs, better than most of the Noldor did.

It was with a very heavy heart that Glorfindel turned to head back to Imladris and complete the patrol that had been marred with death.

* * *

As he approached Imladris with only three other warriors flanking him, Glorfindel knew there would be a need to speak to Elrond soon. He would wait for his lord to summon him, however, as he did not feel the wish to speak to him immediately. The scene that had met them in the mountains had shocked him, it had been something he had not thought he would see again after The Last Alliance had ended on the slope of Orodruin.

There had only been one time after that great war that he had seen such things, and that was in the ruins of Dale, after the Battle of Five Armies. So many silvan elves had died that day, but he knew they were recovering from their losses. It would take them time, however, he knew they would survive and move on from their losses.

He had been relieved, however, that Legolas had not been amongst those who had fallen earlier that day. That would have broken him, and he knew it. The way he felt about the Sindarin Prince was too strong for him to pull through should such a fate befall his beloved.

Leaving his mount with a stable hand, Glorfindel headed into the house to wash the mud and grime from his body after three weeks away from home. At night, Legolas had often been in his dreams, and he hoped the younger ellon was faring well back home, away from him.

Reaching his rather sparse chambers, Glorfindel shut the door behind himself, eager to get some fresh clothing on once more. It felt good to have returned home, where he could somewhat relax until the next time he needed to go out on patrol. If he was lucky, he would be able to set the patrol roster, so that he might get some time to relax.

Knowing Elrond, that was the time when something would come up, but he knew he would do what he had to when his lord asked him to. Even if it was a trip away from Imladris, he knew he would go, particularly if the Woodland Realm was involved.

As such, he had only just bathed and dressed in a fresh tunic and pair of leggings when there was a knock on the door. Glorfindel walked over to answer it, and smiled when he saw one of his closest friends, on the other side.

"Mae govannen, Erestor! What can I do for you, mellon-nin?"

Elrond's dark-haired advisor smiled back at him. When he had been reborn, Glorfindel had been pleased to find Erestor alive. He had learned of Erestor's existence when he returned to Arda, as he had been particularly close to Erestor's father, Ecthelion of the Fountain. For Glorfindel, having Erestor around was like having his best friend still with him.

"Good to see you home once more, Glorfindel. Elrond wanted to talk to you, however. Something about a message come from the Greenwood. He's not only summoned you though. Lindir, Melpomaen and I were sought out as well."

"I'll come."

That had come sooner than he had thought it would indeed.

* * *

 

It was curious, the names that Erestor had told him of the people who had been summoned to Elrond's office. Of the entire group, Glorfindel knew he was the only warrior. Lindir and his son, Melpomaen were minstrels and did not fight, and while Glorfindel knew Erestor could wield a sword, he was an advisor and scholar now.

_So why were the others summoned as well as me?_

To Glorfindel, this made no sense at all. While he understood that Elrond might seek Erestor's council in the matter at hand, he did not see why Lindir or Melpomaen had been called for.

Reaching his friend's office door in the library, Glorfindel knocked. Erestor had walked there with him though they had both been silent on the way. At the answer to come in, Glorfindel entered, followed by the younger ellon.

Glorfindel looked at the elven lord sitting behind the mahogany desk in the room. While Elrond did have some mortal blood, it was well known that he was immortal like the elves in the other half of his lineage. Indeed, the only hint that he shared the blood of the Edain were the worry lines that had appeared through time on his face.

"Ah good, Glorfindel, Erestor. We were waiting for you."

Glorfindel smiled.

“I only just got the message that you wanted to speak with us, so I came straight here.”

He was hardly surprised that he had been sent for, though Lindir and Melpomaen looked unsure as to why they had been called in as well.

“Oh, we haven’t been waiting long,” Lindir said quickly. “So no matter.”

_I would have thought you’d rather be working on some new song for the Hall of Fire tonight, not waiting here for this._

Glorfindel knew Lindir and Meplomaen preferred to be alone so they could work on some new piece of music, rather than being in a group all day. They said the peace and quiet helped them to focus. It was likely they had already been in the library when the message was sent.

“So, why did you send for us?” Glorfindel asked, looking at Elrond.

He knew he would find out eventually what was going, though hopefully, sooner rather than later.

"It's in regard to the messenger you and your company helped, Glorfindel. He was bearing a message from King Thranduil himself regarding putting together some sort of surprise for his youngest son. You and Erestor were mentioned in the letter he bore, though I doubt it would be wise to send just the two of you there."

Erestor snorted. "Thranduil might have thought you were being a bit... abstemious had you only sent the two of us, mellon-nin."

Elrond nodded. "To that I can agree, and I would not want him thinking that sort of thing about Imladris, or me."

Elrond looked at Lindir and Melpomaen. "That is why I thought to send you two as well. I recall you both mentioning, at different times, interest in visiting Mirkwood. I would allow you to go with him.”

Glorfindel knew that Lindir and Melpomaen would be eager to come as well. This meant he would need additional guards with them. Such a group would not go unnoticed by the orcs, if any dared come close enough.

His thoughts seemed to take over, and when the thoughts finished he found Erestor, Melpomaen and Lindir were all gone. It was unlike him to detach himself from a conversation completely as it seemed he had just done.

"When do we leave?" Glorfindel asked, knowing he needed to know some of the finer details now.

"There's three weeks between now and the time that Thranduil expects you to arrive, should you go, Glorfindel. I'll be sending the twins with you as well, it would be wrong of me to keep them here while you all go off to see one of their friends."

 _Prince Nethel better not decide to cause me to fall into a puddle again._ Glorfindel did not need the twins to notice something like that had happened again to him when in the company of the silvan elves. It had been slightly embarrassing for him too, to know that he had been able to be pulled from his saddle as he had been.

"I'll have to take a few other warriors with me, then," Glorfindel replied.

"Take whoever you wish, Glorfindel. Just make sure you get there safely."


	2. Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a message is heard

Once he had left the library, Glorfindel headed straight for the barracks. In giving him the chance to travel to the Greenwood once more, Elrond had given him some additional work to do that day. Not only would he have to sort out who would be accompanying him, but who was being left in charge in his absence.

His usual second in command when he left Imladris, Rycanlar, had fallen in a warg ambush not long after Erebor had fallen. That meant that he had to work out who was next best suited for the role. It was a role that was never easily decided _. If only you were still amongst us, Rycanlar, I could have used your presence here now_. After all, the ellon had been the one Glorfindel had always talked to when there was a need for his second to take command in his absence.

 Elladan and Elrohir would be accompanying him, so that left them out, and besides, he couldn't have asked even were they not coming. They were too young, and far too prone to wandering off into the wild on their own to hunt orcs since their mother had sailed.

 _My first duty has always been to see to the safety of the inhabitants of Imladris._ Glorfindel doubted that was something that would ever change for him. So long as Elrond was still master of this valley, Glorfindel would remain on in his duty as Elrond's seneschal. Glorfindel did not think he would have found anything else as rewarding as this role was.

 Some might argue that if he wanted to, he could have easily established his own settlement to lead. Glorfindel knew he wasn't going to do anything of the sort this side of the Sundering Seas. Losing his people in Gondolin was enough to keep him from wanting to lead others and look out for their welfare. _Perhaps one day, when I return to Valinor, I might do such a thing, but this is not the place for me to do it. I lost too much back then to be able to lead once more._

 While he knew he had the skills needed to be an effective leader, he was content with the way Elrond led the elves of Imladris. At times, when his friend seemed lost, and Erestor couldn’t help, Glorfindel would offer his own help, but those days were rare now. Elrond had a very firm grasp on leading the people here.

 Spotting one of the warriors as he entered the barracks, he motioned for him to join him.

 “What can I do for you, Lord Glorfindel? It’s good to see you back with us once more.”

 Glorfindel smiled. “Send word to Úrdir that I need to speak with him as quickly as possible, Celebros. Tell him, he can find me in my office here in the barracks.”

 No doubt there would reports for him to look at after being away as he had been. Every time he returned, he found a stack of them on his desk, and since he was leaving again very soon, he knew he’d better look into them.

 Celebros nodded. “I will.”

 Glorfindel smiled, before he moved on, toward his office, not in the slightest looking forward to that ever growing pile of reports.

* * *

 

Glorfindel knew there was much to be decided that afternoon. Riding out again tomorrow with a group of warriors and once more, and it seemed, once more, providing an escort for someone else, had left him with little time for himself. Once he was in the Greenwood, he knew he would have some free time.. It would be nice to see many of the friends he'd made there once more. Of course, there was also an unsuspecting Legolas waiting for him in the Greenwood.

 How good it would be to see him again.

 The visits were so infrequent, but in these times when the Shadow was returning to strength, it was how it had to be. Those times, shared between them were cherished memories in the months and upon occasion years that sometimes went by without being about to visit. One day, when the Shadow in Mordor was defeated once more, hopefully for good this time, visiting Legolas, or Legolas visiting him would be much easier. When that day would be, no one could tell, until then, they would have to bide their time.

 It seemed, from the first report that he'd read now, that there had been nothing of too much note happening. There were, from a cursory glance at the contents of the pile, a few notes regarding injured warriors, which made him wonder what had caused those. Glorfindel was just reaching for those when he heard the knock on the door.

 "Enter!"

 Glorfindel looked up as he spoke, smiling as he spotted Úrdir coming into his office.

 "You wanted to see me, Commander?"

 Glorfindel inclined his head toward the chair on the other side of his desk.

 "Have a seat, Úrdir."

 He waited for the other ellon to do so, before continuing.

 "Lord Elrond's sending me to the Greenwood, and I must leave tomorrow. Were Rycanlar here with us still, I would have you come with me, but since he is not, I need someone to watch over Imladris in my absence. You're the only one I can trust with that."

 He only ever needed someone else to fill that gap when he would be away for an extended period of time; when he went out on border patrol, he was close enough to home to be sent for if there was something urgent. A trip to the Greenwood, on the other hand, meant it could take weeks for a message to get to him and for him to return.

 Úrdir paused when he heard this.

 "You want me to do the things you would do here, while you head over to Mirkwood? Why, by Eru, are you being sent all the way over there?"

 Glorfindel snorted.

 "No need to use Eru's name right now, mellon-nin. The messenger we helped earlier would be the reason, or rather, the message he brought. Thranduil's asked for Elrond to send me there. Something about a surprise for Prince Legolas, or so the gist of the letter entailed."

Úrdir nodded. 

"I will do what you ask, but who will you take with you?"

"In truth, I am still considering who amongst the guard I can take without causing too much of a weakness here," Glorfindel admitted. "I will come up with something."

* * *

 

Deciding that the stack of reports was not a good use of the time he had, Glorfindel headed out into the main training grounds. He could hear the familiar clash of swords and knew some of the warriors would be out training. Depending on who he found there, he might have time for the reports.

To both his dismay and joy, there were only two warriors at the field training. There was joy because of who they were. These two Ellyn were two of the warriors whom he would need on the journey into the Greenwood. The only reason he felt dismayed, was because no one else he wanted to speak to was present. A pity, considering the others he wanted could be anywhere.

Perhaps he would be able to get these two to find the others and tell them. It would save him some time instead of walking around searching through all of Imladris.

“Côlbrethil! Brêgmaeth!”

Glorfindel knew he would get their attention. When he was out on the training fields, he did not go unnoticed. Many of his warriors, particularly the younger ones who had only heard the tales of his past, always stopped to stare at him. It was the same when he interviewed those who expressed interest in joining the guard. He guessed most did not expect to be working with a so called 'living legend' such as himself.

Glorfindel smiled as the two warriors finished their match swiftly, Brêgmaeth he noted was the winner before they turned toward him 

"Well fought, warriors."

He knew of the two, Brêgmaeth had his own command, but that Côlbrethil was also a part of that command.

“Brêgmaeth, I need you to pass on a message to the elves in your command. The twins, Lindir, Lord Erestor, Melpomaen and myself are departing on a trip to the Greenwood tomorrow. I want you, and your warriors, to accompany us on that trip.”

“So many of you?” Brêgmaeth asked.

Glorfindel nodded.

“It involves Prince Legolas, and a surprise of some sort for him.”

The other ellon nodded.

“I’ll let the others know. It’s good to have you back with us once more, Commander.”

Glorfindel couldn’t have agreed more. It was nice to be home, even if it was only a very short stay once more.

“I shall see you and your warriors an hour after dawn.”

He wanted to get an early start, considering the travel distance that was in front of them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Celebros – Silver Foam  
> Côlbrethil – Gold Birch  
> Brêgmaeth – Fierce Fight


	3. Leavetaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the group sets out from Rivendell.

The morning came swiftly, and with the rise of the sun, Glorfindel was already waking. He’d never gotten out of the habit of doing so; it was something he’d done ever since he lived in Gondolin. Perhaps, he was simply used to being up early, or maybe it was just habit now.

Glorfindel smiled to himself as he got to work on buckling on his armour once more, pleased that it hadn’t been damaged while he was out on patrol the day before. Travelling into the Greenwood, he would not have wanted damaged armour, not with all the deadly spiders lurking unseen in the shadows.

He knew, no doubt, that the twins would be on time this time. If anyone was likely to hold them up, it would be the two minstrels. The minstrels often worked late, and he hoped, this time, that Lindir and Melpomaen had at least attempted to have a somewhat earlier night than usual.

While there was a second set in one of the chests in his room, Glorfindel did not go for it. Instead, the armour he chose to wear this time was silver, a series of interlocked diagonally criss-crossing panels made up the design on the breastplate. The gauntlets dark, almost black as night: with dark copper edging. He never wore a helm; it was a personal preference, especially after seeing the way Ecthelion had fallen! He remembered all too well that his friend had gotten the spike on the top of his helm stuck in Gothmog, and had drowned with the Lord of the Balrogs’ as a result.

Last of all, Glorfindel buckled his sword to his left side, and picked up the saddlebag he had packed the evening before. There wasn't much he needed on this trip, and he knew that there would be provisions ready to go with the horses. All he had to do now was head outside, which did not take him long.

To his surprise, everyone who was going on the journey was waiting in the stable yard, or was leading their horses out. The twins, like the guards and himself wore armour, though theirs was the same burgundy-copper that their father wore. Glorfindel knew they would be eager to start riding, as he was. Sooner he got to the Greenwood, the sooner he would be able to see Legolas once more.

He was surprised however, to see that Erestor had his sword and bow with him. It had been far too long since Glorfindel had last seen Ecthelion’s son carrying a weapon, he didn’t think he had seen that since the Last Alliance.

 _A good thing we never forget how to do something once we’ve learned how._ Else there would be no point to Erestor carrying the weapons; he’d be a danger to the company as well as any foe.

Spotting his white horse, held by one of the stable-hands, Glorfindel walked over to claim his mount, settling his saddlebag into place behind his saddle, before mounting.

“Thanks,” he told the elf holding the reins, before he took them from him.

He looked at the others, who were starting to mount their horses now that he was in the saddle. It seemed; they had been waiting for him to do so, before they did. Not that it mattered; the important thing was that they were leaving at the right time.

There was no sign of Elrond anywhere, but he only showed himself when there was something serious going on. When Elrond felt he ought to ride out as well. This wasn’t one of those occasions.

Looking behind him, he noted the other guards were in two groups. Four of them behind him, Côlbrethil and Brêgmaeth riding to either side of Lindir and Melpomaen, with one of the twins behind each of them. The other four guards rode behind Erestor at the back of the group.

Glorfindel's horse started forward, and they were on their way away from the valley, heading for Mirkwood. It could only be hoped that their journey would be free from trouble, considering there was plenty of danger outside the valley walls. While for some time, there had been utterly no need to kill orcs and wargs, he knew that was to do with the Battle of the Five Armies, which he'd been present for.

He knew on the other hand, that life was never meant to be straight forward. At least, not here in these mortal lands that had seen so much chaos in them. Only in Valinor, was it always peaceful.

* * *

That evening, Glorfindel signalled the company to a stop on a small rise between three hill slopes that made up a small valley. The place he’d picked only had one entrance, so setting up a watch would not be hard.

Once he’d dismounted, he took a closer look at the walls of the valley. They appeared to be unclimbable, so it seemed any danger would have to come from the entrance only. There was also no sign of anything, elf, Edain or orc having camped in this valley recently.

 _A good sign_.

“Côlbrethil?”

The warrior looked up at his voice.

“Yes, My Lord?”

“Work out with the other warriors whose taking what watch. Remember, the twins will want to help. A good hint, don’t try and argue with them, you’ll get nowhere. I want to know what’s organised, and if needed I will take one of the watches, but I’m counting on you to not make that necessary.”

Idly, he wondered whether Melpomaen and Lindir would think about singing out here. He hoped not, considering they certainly weren’t at home now. There were many dangers around, and Glorfindel did not want them being attracted to their camp.

Each of the warriors had a one man tent with them, quickly assembled in a circle around where the campfire would be. Lindir and Melpomaen had a two person tent to share, as did the twins.

Erestor however had settled with a one person one, even though, Glorfindel had offered to have a third two man tent with them. He would have shared with his friend quite willingly, but Erestor had declined.

One of the other warriors, quite a bit younger than the twins, but older than Melpomaen, worked on getting the campfire started.

Glorfindel led his horse over to where the twins were busy tying a line between two trees to tether the horses to, and got to work on removing his saddle.

“Don’t tie that rope too tightly, we’re only staying here for the night then moving on,” he told the twins, before he turned to head back and see what Côlbrethil had come up with.

The two of them only spoke for a few minutes. Glorfindel learnt that he would not take any of the watches himself that night, and from his friend's words it seemed most of the watches for the journey were planned. In some ways, that was good, and while he didn't mind not having to take one of the watches, it made Glorfindel almost think that had been planned all along.

There were more than enough elves in the group for the watches to only be short as it was. Glorfindel headed for his tent, trusting his warriors to keep them safe through the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation  
> Avorhathol – fast (full spelling Avorn) blade   
> Mithór – Grey (Grey is actually Mith) eagle (Eagle is actually thór)

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:  
> Alagmîr – Rushing Jewel  
> Hithaeglir – Misty Mountains  
> Cut în sîdh, maethyr – rest in peace, warriors  
> Mae govannen - well met (informal)  
> Mellon-nin – my friend


End file.
